Singaporeans going the extra mile to help others amid Covid-19
Some have reached out to those in greater need during the virus outbreak
She had picked the quietest time to enter the lift at her HDB block, waiting until 10pm to make her move.
To her surprise, a neighbour walked in on the fifth storey and caught her in the act.
But Ms Connie Ng just wanted to replenish the stock of masks in the paper bag that she had earlier left in the lift for neighbours who may need them during this period of coronavirus outbreak.
Ms Ng, 38, who works in the construction industry, has replenished the masks on four occasions.
She has also given out more than 500 masks through online community marketplace Carousell over the last three weeks, limiting it to 10 masks each person.
Ms Ng, who has a 12-year-old son, told The New Paper: "My first thought was that there must be people in greater need of these masks. When I found masks available on Carousell, I thought I would just buy more and give away the extra ones to others for free."
At the onset of Covid-19, she was frustrated that she had been unable to get masks for her family.
But she realised the situation was more dire for those with young children or family members who are ill.
Ms Ng has spent several hundred dollars buying masks on Carousell and Shopee since making her first purchase on Jan 30.
"We should all show kindness, especially during this period," said Ms Ng, who intends on procuring even more batches of masks to distribute.
Not-for-profit collective Better.sg also launched Mask Go Share, a website that allows people to submit requests for essentials such as masks and hand sanitisers, or search for requests to fulfil.
Mr Gaurav Keerthi, who leads the team, told TNP: "Despite the scenes of panic-buying, we believe there is good in people.
"We wanted to come up with a digital tool to enable peer-to-peer sharing and bring out the best in Singaporeans."
The 41-year-old civil servant said Mask Go Share attracts close to 1,000 unique visitors each day.
Wish Wuhan Well - a project by members of the Chinese student societies from Singapore Management University, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore University of Technology and Design, and Singapore Institute of Management - is donating 10 mechanical ventilators to hospitals in Hubei, China.
Co-founded by Chinese undergraduates Wang Peng Fei and Peng Gen Yi, the project raised approximately $50,000 in nine days to purchase the machines, which are due to arrive at the hospitals this week.
Mr Peng, a 22-year-old medical student at NUS who became a Singapore citizen last May, told TNP: "We all have relatives and friends in China, so we really wanted to do what we could to help."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
